//------------------------------// // 76 Frozen by Kean // Story: Full Moon Fever: A MoonLight Prompt Collab // by TheLastBrunnenG //------------------------------// Frozen by Kean Twilight sat just inside the exit to the balcony attached to her bedroom, her eye pressed against the eyepiece of her telescope. “Luna really outdid herself tonight,” she muttered to herself. It didn’t surprise her, Luna made sure that this night, every year, that the skies were clear. The moon, ever present in the sky was dimmed in comparison to the stars, each one belonging to a constellation brighter than the others. Her stargazing was interrupted by a dull thud just underneath the balcony. Probably just a pile of snow falling off the roof, she thought as she stepped onto the balcony, into the crisp winter night air. No pony in their right mind would be out here. It’s got to be below freezing! Shivering, she looked down over the railing. At the top of the steps leading to the castle’s main entrance, she could just make out the shape of a pony lying in the snow. With a gasp, she teleported herself just before the doors and pulled them open. She quickly summoned a gust of wind to clear the snow off the landing and the pony. She could only stare at the pony lying there. Nightmare Moon was on her side, one forehoof bent and extended, eyes nearly closed, lips quivering. Her entire body was shaking, shivering in a vain attempt to preserve some of its heat. Looking out over the snow covered path leading to the castle, she could see hoofprints leading back toward Ponyville. Why would she walk? Her internal question was answered by something pressed against the underside of Nightmare’s wing, pushing a few feathers up. Luna and Celestia had believed that Nightmare Moon wasn’t destroyed by the Elements, but as she had not shown so much as a feather after Luna had been restored, they’d had no reason to search her out. She attempted to lift the wing out of the way, thinking the item could possibly a weapon of some sort, but the wing wouldn’t budge, held firm against Nightmare’s body. Lifting Nightmare gently in in her magic, she pulled her into the castle and shut the doors before teleporting them both back to her room, where her fireplace was already lit, providing her warmth while she stargazed. She set the shivering alicorn in front of the hearth and laid across from her after covering her with the coverings from her bed. Twilight sighed as Nightmare’s eyes fully closed and weighed her options. I could contact Celestia. But that would involve waking Spike and if I’ve learned anything over the years, that’s an effort in futility. Besides, she hasn’t done anything to warrant involving the Princesses. I could let her recover here, but… She watched Nightmare silently, attempting to come up with a good reason to not allow her to stay. When five minutes passed with no reasonable reason in sight and Nightmare still shivering, she stood and lifted the blankets before settling next to her and placing them back over both of them, to aid in the recovery of Nightmare’s body heat with her own. Fifteen minutes passed before Nightmare’s shivering stopped and a full hour before she stirred, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused. “Good, you’re awake,” Twilight sighed. “Are you feeling okay?” Nightmare regarded her out of the corner of her eye, though she showed no recognition and she didn’t speak directly to Twilight. “I could certainly feel better, but as I have not been frozen as an ice sculpture, I cannot complain.” She turned her head, eyes scanning the room, never focusing on anything. “Would you be so kind as to tell me where I am?” Twilight cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. Maybe she wasn’t okay. “You passed out outside of my castle –“ “Ah…” “– You were freezing, so I brought you to my room to warm you up.” Nightmare’s eyes widened and focused. Twilight prepared a teleport before continuing. “Why did you come here anyway?” Nightmare tensed for only a moment before relaxing. With a sigh she said, “I have been… watching you for a time.” At Twilight’s confused look, she quickly added, “Not in that way, I assure you. More so I have been admiring you.” Nightmare sighed. “That sounds no better does it?” Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “No, it doesn’t. But I think I understand what you mean. Still, why did you come here?” “I noticed that you were spending this night alone and thought perhaps you might welcome company.” Twilight blinked at that. Even with Nightmare being at most half-conscious, it had been nice just laying with the black alicorn. “But why did you walk here? It’s the middle of winter, the dead of night, and it’s freezing. You couldn’t have thought it was a good idea to walk?” Nightmare turned away and chuckled. “I have spent most of my time apart from Luna recovering in a mist form. Would you believe me if I said I got lost in my thoughts?” She laughed. “To think I would be brought low twice by the elements.” “Then why didn’t you fly? Or come in that form?” Nightmare said nothing, but shifted her wing and tucked her head under it. Seeing the softness in Nightmare’s eye caused Twilight to drop the framework of her teleport from her mind as she extracted the item – a small rectangular tan box bound in crossed purple silk, tied in a bow in the center – and set it between Twilight’s hooves. “Either would have made carrying this difficult.” Twilight started to ask why she hadn’t carried it with magic when hers simply slipped off the box. “A small oversight, glaringly obvious in hindsight,” Nightmare chuckled. Twilight stared at the box for a moment before asking, “But why bring anything at all?” “Is it not tradition to give others a gift on this day?” “Yeah, but I don’t –“ Nightmare cut her off. “I do not expect anything in exchange.” Twilight nodded before carefully untying the bow and slipping the silk off the box. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nightmare pointedly looking straight ahead. Inside the box was a worn, leather bound tome. It had no title or author on the cover. “What is this?” She asked, nearly quivering with excitement. It looked old, it smelled old. “It is a written account of the Unification of the Three Tribes, from someone who was there.” Nightmare said, her eye darting back and forth between Twilight and the wall ahead of them. Twilight stared at the book for a moment longer before replacing the lid and setting it off to the side. She’d need to make sure it was properly protected before even beginning to read it. She stared at Nightmare for a few moments before a small smile formed. “You wrote it, didn’t you?” Still looking ahead, Nightmare nodded. She tensed when she felt Twilight nuzzled the base of her neck. “Thank you, it’s wonderful,” Twilight said after pulling away. They laid there in silence for a while, listening to the crackling of the fire. Finally, Twilight spoke sleepily. “This was nice, Nightmare, thank you for coming tonight.” With a smile, Nightmare said, “Thank you for allowing me to stay.” “And Nightmare?” Twilight continued with a yawn. “Hmm?” Twilight laid her head across Nightmare’s hooves. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.” Nightmare gently laid her neck across Twilight’s. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Twilight.”